Match 14 of the Indian Premier League saw Mumbai Indians lose their 3rd consecutive match as they fell to an 6-wicket defeat against a high-flying Rajasthan Royals who are yet to lose a match this season.
Home and away, we move unbeaten. 💗💪 pic.twitter.com/hNJ1BiT9wb
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 1, 2024
An all-round performance from Sanju Samson’s side saw them excel with both and ball at the Wankhede Stadium on April 1.
After being put to bat first, former captain Rohit Sharma suffered an early setback by getting out for a golden duck, silencing the Wankhede crowd. Following Rohit’s dismissal, Rajasthan’s pacers, including Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, and Avesh Khan, caused a collapse in Mumbai’s batting order.
Boult struck early by dismissing Rohit, Naman, and impact substitute Dewald Brevis in his first two overs, while Burger removed opener Ishan Kishan cheaply. As a result, Mumbai found themselves struggling at 20/4 after just 3.3 overs.
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Skipper Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma then contributed some crucial runs, taking the score to 76/6. However, Pandya’s dismissal, due to a poor shot against Yuzvendra Chahal, halted their momentum. Despite Varma’s 29-ball 32 and Tim David’s brief 17-run cameo, Mumbai couldn’t post a competitive total as they lost wickets at regular intervals, settling for a below-par score of 125/9 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, Rajasthan openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (10) got out cheaply courtesy of a 17-year-old Kwena Maphaka who got his maiden IPL wicket on the night.
With the top 3 batters including Jos Buttler and skipper Sanju Samson getting out at a collective total of just 35, Rajasthan were feeling the pressure pile on them.
In-form batter Riyan Parag looked to give the team some momentum along with Ravichandran Ashwin with the latter eventually getting out on 16.
In the end, it was Riyan Parag’s classy fifty which took the Royals to their 3rd win of the season.
For Hardik Pandya and co., it was a 3rd consecutive loss which will do no good for the team, especially for Hardik who isn’t in MI fans’ good books yet.
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